Turkish football, still trying to recover from the international scandal following the savage assault on a referee that has cost the Ankaragücü president a lifetime suspension, experienced a new moment of crisis yesterday precisely on the day when football competitions resumed in Turkey after the suspension decreed by the TFF: It was in the third match of the 17th round of the Super League that Istanbulspor, bottom team with only 8 points this season, left the match with still 17 minutes left in protest against a refereeing decision.
It was Istanbulspor president Ecmel Faik Sarıalioğlu himself who ordered the players to leave the pitch and end the match after Paul Onuachu scored a goal in the 68th minute to put Trabzonspor ahead: the goal came from a counter-attacking move by the Black Sea team, after Istanbulspor players had called for a penalty a minute earlier for a foul on Florian Loshaj in the box, but the referee, Ali Şansalan, did not consider it so.
The Istanbulspor president, upset with the way the game was going, then said that the team was abandoning the match in protest at the referee’s decision, despite several players trying to persuade him not to do so, including defender Simon Deli, who went so far as to beg him on his knees. “It is a sad day for Turkish football… We will wait for the Federation’s decision,” said Trabzonspor coach Abdullah Avcı.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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